Who: Rose Dewitt Bukater and Caroline Forbes What: Drinks after work When: After this log Ratings/Warnings: Low/None Status: Complete
Shifts at the Baxter Bakery always seemed to go by fast, but even faster when she was working with Rose. Caroline got along with all her coworkers, but probably Rose and Izzy the most. Though technically Izzy was her boss. But yes her shifts usually flew by. This one even faster than usual thanks to the extra long break she got to take. She owed Rose for that one. So of course drinks after work.
Okay it was a little early in the day for drinks, but hey you gotta unwind after work right? Besides it was the best way to catch up in Caroline’s opinion. Well that or coffee and considering they were surrounded by coffee all day, drinks were the better option.
“Get whatever you want,” Caroline told Rose after she had compelled the bartender to believe her companion was of age. “On me,” as in on the bartender.
Rose really enjoyed spending time with Caroline. She’d quickly become someone who Rose felt like she could trust, especially after she had dealt with Caledon at the bakery. While she was completely fine about Caroline using her compulsion to help get Rose into bars without issue, Rose was a little uncomfortable with the idea of getting free drinks from it. But November loomed on the horizon, and with the Vegas trip with Caroline, the Disneyland trip with Anna, and the trip to Santa Monica she was planning with Jack, it was going to be tight. A couple of beers never hurt anyone, and if she left the bartender an extra nice tip she could assuage her guilt a little.
With a small frown, she ordered herself a beer, something nice, dark, and hearty, and turned to Caroline, smiling. “So,” she said. “You have to tell me about Mr. Tall, Blond, and Handsome,” she said.
There was a time when Caroline had felt guilty about using her compulsion for free drinks. Now it had just become a part of life. She barely even thought about it anymore. She did notice the frown on Rose’s face though. “I can actually pay if you want,” she had the money. It just wasn’t something that crossed her mind to do. Free was so much better.
She ordered herself a rum and coke, not that it was really going to do much but it was her drink of choice. Besides it was way too earlier for shots, not that those did much either unless she drank like a ton. But then Rose brought up Peeta. Of course her friend would want to know who Caroline had taken an extra long break talking to. She couldn’t really blame her. She would want to know the same if the situation had been reversed.
“Oh,” Caroline replied her cheeks turning just the slightest shade of pink. “That was Peeta. We met at a bar one night.” The night before her birthday, the same night Jack had gotten shot. “He was just stopping by to say hi,” in true one night stand form they hadn’t exchanged numbers but Caroline had let it slip where she worked so that was all Peeta really had to go on.
“Oh, no, I couldn’t ask that,” Rose said. “I’m sure a beer or two wouldn’t hurt, and I couldn’t ask you to pay when I can’t do so myself.”
Rose gave a small smile, though she didn’t know if what had transpired at the bar had just been friendly conversation or something more. “You must have made quite the impression if he just stopped in to say hi. He’s quite handsome.”
“It’s no big deal,” Caroline shrugged. She got free drinks all the time. Paying for a few wasn’t going to kill her. And even if that was kind of how her life worked now if Rose was uncomfortable with it, she could pay. It wasn’t that big of a deal.
Thier drinks came and Caroline took a sip before getting back to the topic at hand. “Well I did sleep with him,” she said it casually because it was casual. No strings. That was how Caroline preferred things anyway. Less of a chance of people getting hurt that way.
“Thank you,” Rose said, smiling a little. It felt a little too close to stealing for her to be entirely okay with it, and she really did appreciate that Caroline was willing to pay for her drinks.
She sipped her beer. “I take it that it was good then?” she asked, a small mischievous smile on her face. It couldn’t have been bad if he had come to see her at work, and they’d both seemed quite happy when they had been talking to one another. Rose herself had never seen the appeal in a one-night stand, though she didn’t look down on those who did.
“No problem,” being a vampire, it had changed her. Her moral compass had shifted somewhere over the course of the year. Compelling free drinks was practically nothing to her, not when there was so much worse she could do. And had done some of it the week her humanity was off. But being around Rose reminded her that even the little things still mattered. So paying with money would be happening.
“Very,” Caroline confirmed a sly smile on her own face. She hadn’t really ever expected to hear from him again, but then today happened so she’d what happened from there. “But enough about that. How’s everything with Jack?”
At the mention of Jack, Rose’s face lit up a little and a pleased smile graced her lips. “Oh, Jack’s been absolutely wonderful. He stayed with me while Cal was in town,” her apartment seemed lonely now that Jack had gone home, “and he was just so great throughout it all.” Which of course had her thinking about the fact that Jack had been shot for her, and the smile disappeared from her face. He was fine now; he had been healed by one of his friends. But that didn’t change the fact that it had been one of the scariest moments of her life. She knew that he had died in the dreams (perhaps they had died together, neither of them knew yet), and she had been terrified that the same thing was going to happen here.
Of course Caroline noticed when the smile left Rose’s face. She wasn’t sure if it was because Jack was no longer staying with her or the getting shot thing. It was probably a combination of both. “Maybe you could ask him to move in with you?” it seemed like the couple was pretty serious and they were already basically living together anyway. Caroline could never picture herself living with a guy. Well Stefan didn’t count. But she had nothing against her friends doing it if that was what made them happy.
“Oh no, I don’t think we’re ready to move in together yet. We haven’t been seeing each other for that long yet, and even in the dreams we only know one another for three days before…” before Jack froze to death in the frigid Atlantic waters, “before the ship sinks, and relationships always seem perfect at the beginning. Perhaps in a few months.” Even her relationship with Cal hadn’t seemed awful at the beginning. She hadn’t been looking forward to marrying him, but she had still agreed to do it.
Caroline was actually relieved to hear that. Glad that Rose wasn’t rushing into anything. Even though it still seemed like her friend was going to miss his presence at her apartment. “That’s a good idea. But I’m sure you guys will make it. He seems crazy about you from what I’ve noticed.” Not that Caroline really knew Jack. Just from what she had heard, and the whole getting shot incident. Clearly he cared about Rose.
“But if you ever get lonely at your apartment, you can always come stay at my place,” she paused for a moment thinking that over. “Or better yet, I can go stay at yours for a few nights!” Her place got crowded, three roommates, two of which were also vampires.
Rose wasn’t blind; she knew how Jack felt about her. Still, hearing Caroline say as much brought a smile to her lips that she poorly tried suppress. How unlike her to become flustered over a boy. “I hope you’re right. I’m crazy about him too.”
Rose’s face lit up at the topic of a sleepover. “Oh, I would like that very much. I haven’t had many people over, but I would love to be able to show you some of my dream gifts.” She knew Caroline wasn’t as interested in art as Anna was, but she did want to show off her dream Picasso.
That much was obvious. It was sweet how much Rose cared about Jack. But on to the topic of sleepovers. “It will be so much fun!” It was difficult for Caroline to hide the excitement from her voice, but there was something she would have to warn Rose about. “I’ll just have to bring some blood over…” she left that open for Rose to object to if she wanted. Of course it would mean Caroline would have to leave often to keep herself fed but she’d get if her friend wasn’t comfortable with her feeding habits. “Oh! What kind of dream gifts? The music box and what else have you gotten?”
“Bloo-” Rose started, and then coloured a little. She hadn’t forgotten Caroline was a vampire, but it hadn’t exactly occurred to her that if vampires drank blood, and Caroline was a vampire, it would follow that Caroline fed on blood. Despite her surprise, Rose didn’t have a problem with it. “Oh yes, of course. Bring as much as you need.”
She took a swig of her beer. “Oh, I just recently got the most beautiful dresses from the 1900s, and they’re still in wearable condition. I’ve also received an old fashioned cigarette holder,” though Rose smoked, it was more of a casual thing, having picked up the habit only to piss off her mother. “And a few other small things. But my most prized possession is a painting that came through.”
“Lucky!” Caroline replied already done with the subject of blood. She didn’t like to dwell on the fact that her dietary needs weren’t exactly normal. “I never got clothes from my dreams,” of course that’s what would interest Caroline the most. She didn’t smoke. “Well unless you count this ring,” she held up her hand to show off her daylight ring. But that was more a necessity than anything. Otherwise she wouldn’t be able to go out when the sun was.
She could tell that Rose was really excited about the painting though. “What’s the painting like?”
“That ring is lovely,” Rose said. She liked her jewelry to be a little more understated, but even so she thought the ring looked quite pretty. “You’re more than welcome to try on some of my dream clothes. They were tailored specifically for me, but I think we’re close to the same size.”
Rose didn’t think that anyone was eavesdropping on them, but she still dropped her voice a little. “It’s a Picasso. And original Picasso. He wasn’t well-known at the time, but I thought his paintings were just lovely so I bought a few. They probably went down with the ship, but one of them was there in my room when I woke up that morning.” She’d also had a Monet in her dreams, but that one hadn’t come through.
Caroline didn’t have much choice in the picking out of the ring in either world. But she did like it and it allowed her to go out in the daytime so she definitely didn’t have any complaints.
“Oh my god! Really? Yes that so has to happen at our sleepover!” Caroline was getting more excited by the second. And even she was excited by the idea of an original Picasso. “Seriously? That’s amazing,” even with her excitement she kept her voice low although she could just compel anyone that overheard them. “I can’t wait to see it. So yes this definitely needs to happen. After Vegas?”
“It’s going to be so much fun,” Rose said. Her excitement was growing as well. She wasn’t a stranger to sleepovers - she’d had plenty as a child - but it was the first time she was going to have one of her female friends staying at her new apartment. “We will definitely have to do this after Vegas.”